Gardner-Webb Dual Meet Preview

We take to the mats against Gardner-Webb tomorrow evening at 6:30PM.  This will be our third dual meet of the season and is in Boiling Springs, NC.  The Runnin’Bulldog wrestling team is led by Daniel Elliott in his first season as the head coach.  Coach Elliott has been an integral part of the GWU wrestling program for a dozen years, first as a wrestler, then as an assistant before becoming the associate head coach for two seasons, and ultimately as the head coach.  They have two dual meet wins on the season over George Mason and Belmont Abbey.  GWU is expected to start five seniors in the dual meet.  Here is a look at their line-up…

125 Pounds – Tyler Ziegler is a freshman from Ohio.  He has started in every dual meet so far this season for GWU.  He has two dual meet wins and eight wins on the season.  He finished in the top six at the Citadel Open earlier this season.

133 Pounds – Robbie Golde is local product from Charlotte.  He is a redshirt sophomore that is in his second year as a starter.  He has more than twice as many matches as he did last season and has improved a lot.  He is tied for fourth on the team in wins with thirteen so far this season with three of those coming from dual meets.  He placed sixth at the Brute Invite and was in the top eight at the Cleveland State Open.

141 Pounds – Davante Andujar is a sophomore from nearby Concord.  He has also improved a lot as he won eleven matches last season and has already won fourteen matches this season.  He is third on the team in wins and is also tied for the most dual meet wins on the team with five.  In addition, he won the early season Citadel Open.  He is 14-6 overall and 5-2 in dual meets this season.

149 Pounds – Ryan Medved is a fifth-year senior leader for GWU.  He was a National Qualifier two seasons ago after winning the conference championships.  He suffered a season ending injury last year and was unable to compete in the post season.  He has posted two twenty win seasons in his collegiate career.  He currently is riding a five match win streak.  He has six wins on the season in limited action and a 5-1 dual meet record.

157 Pounds – Alex Medved is Ryan’s twin brother.  He is a redshirt senior and leader on the team.  He was also a NCAA Qualifier two seasons ago after winning the conference.  He has eighty-eight career wins.  This season, he again leads the team in wins with eighteen (18-7 overall) with four of those coming from dual meets.  This season, he finished fourth at the Hokie Open, third at the Brute Invitational, and second at the Cleveland State Open.

165 Pounds – Justin Guthrie is one of the seniors on the team.  He is in his fifth year at GWU.  Currently, he has five wins on the season and two dual meet wins.  Last season, he finished 4^th in the SoCon.  He has been a fixture in the GWU line-up for a few years and posted nineteen wins last season.

174 Pounds – The Runnin’ Bulldogs have two wrestlers that could see the line-up tomorrow.  Freshman Hunter Gamble has been very successful as a true freshman.  Aaron Rabin offers a little bit more experience as a redshirt sophomore.  Rabin has started in most of the dual meets while Gamble has yet to wrestle in a dual meet.  Gamble is second on the team in wins and has placed in the most tournaments of any starter this season.  He finished fourth at the Brute Invitational, third at the King College Open, and third at the Citadel Open.  Rabin has one win on the season.

184 Pounds – Gray Jones is a freshman with eleven wins.  He is tied for the most dual meet wins on the team with five.  Earlier this season, he placed second at the Citadel Open.

197 pounds – Blake Slayer is a fifth-year senior.  He has ten wins so far this season.  This season, he has placed fifth at the Brute Invitational and third at the Cleveland State Open.

285 Pounds – Travis Porter anchors the team at the heavyweight spot.  He is a redshirt-senior with thirteen wins and he is tied for a team high five dual meet wins.  He has sixty-eight career wins and was an NCAA National Qualifier two years ago.  Last season, he finished third in the SoCon.  He took fourth at the Brute Invite last week and finished in the top twelve at the Hokie Open.